Monday, 24 April 2017

Honing Skills to be Future Ready

Being a multilingual and open country where many languages are spoken, Singapore includes a wide variety of language schools. In this informative article, I cover different types and what to keep in mind when selecting your school of choice.

Decision #1 Pure language school vs. hybrid school

Although some schools in Singapore give attention to teaching languages alone, it's very common to see private schools that combine language courses with course offerings in hospitality, commerce or preparatory courses for entering Singapore's primary or secondary schools.

These'hybrid'schools are usually larger, meaning they offer more services with their enrolled students, such as events and help in securing a destination for a stay. They can also smooth the way to follow-up studies in the city state, as they'll have connections with local Universities and Polytechnics.

On the flip side, the'pure'language schools tend to be more centered on the language curriculum. In the event that you prefer to enroll in a college that gives languages alone, you will often manage to take advantage of language and culture related activities form lessons.

Decision #2 EduTrust vs. non-Edutrust

EduTrust is Singapore's scheme for certifying private schools. EduTrust is required for schools that provide full-time courses above a particular duration and courses for that your course fees are over a particular amount. The upside of EduTrust is that they have to have clear procedures set up to ensure school fees are safe and students are ensured.

The downside is... bureaucracy. Simply signing up for a language course usually requires 3 forms, to be completed in person. You need to prove that you have health insurance and may need to sign up for fee protection insurance or an Escrow arrangement for paying your lesson fees. In a nutshell, whilst it has some protection, EduTrust may also allow it to be rather complicated to really sign up for your course, particularly if you are not based in Singapore.

Decision #3 Single vs. multiple language schools

Some schools prefer to specialize in a single language while others provide a whole selection of different languages. There are schools specializing in English, Mandarin, French, Spanish, Korean, Japanese and perhaps other languages as well.

Specialized language schools often provide a better developed curriculum and more class start dates, if you are able, it is certainly recommended to become listed on a course at a single language school. To learn more please visitSecondary school singapore